Turning the Other Cheek

On Sunday we are looking at one of the most radical and deeply practical teaching of Jesus Christ. We are going to be looking at turning the other cheek.

Jesus says do not resist an evil doer, instead, if you are hit to turn the other cheek.

This is a radical and explosive teaching.

But here is the thing, this isn’t something we are just called to think about, or to meditate on. We are called to actually practice it.

Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon write this:

What impresses about the Sermon is its attention to the nitty-gritty details of everyday life. Jesus appears to be giving very practical, very explicit directions for what to do when someone has done you wrong, when someone attacks you, when you are married, etc.

And this is true – Jesus is interested in the nitty-gritty practical details of everyday life. That when we come up against an enemy, someone who hurts and harms us, we are called to turn the other cheek. But what does that actually mean? And does that actually even work – or isn’t that a naïve view of the world? That’s what we are going to really dive deeply into Sunday. The question I have for all of us is pretty simple: has anyone you know ever “turned the cheek” in a difficult situation? What happened? How did it change them? Did it change the other person?

And if you get stuck not coming up with anyone…you could always try looking at Jesus.